N.B. mayor: State pier management a ‘failure’

NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell said a state department’s management of State Pier “has been a failure for a long time,” as city councilors press for improvements after two cargo ships bound for the city instead went elsewhere last month, The Standard-Times reported last week.

Mitchell was critical of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages State Pier but has not provided a specific timetable for installing cargo refrigeration there. The mayor praised Gov. Charlie Baker, though, citing a willingness to work toward solutions.

“DCR’s management of State Pier has been a failure for a long time, and I applaud the Baker administration’s desire to dig into the long-term management of the facility,” Mitchell said.

State Rep. Bill Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat who is House chairman of the state’s joint Transportation Committee, called refrigeration “a must” for State Pier. •

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